The Pirates entered July 16 tied with the Cardinals for first place in the National League Central. Pittsburgh and St. Louis were a half-game ahead of Milwaukee.
Three months ago, the Pirates contending in mid-July seemed less likely than the Indians leading the AL Central, Craig Kimbrel on top of the NL in saves and Hanley Ramirez having six fewer home runs and 12 fewer RBI than fellow shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
If you're scoring at home, everything in the above paragraph has happened, and the contending Pirates have produced another unlikely fantasy baseball standout.
Alex Presley, an eighth-round draft pick in 2006, is batting .357 with 11 runs scored, one home run, six RBI, three stolen bases and a .975 OPS in 56 at-bats since he was promoted from Triple-A. He is playing so well the Pirates will have a tough decision to make when left fielder Jose Tabata returns from a quadriceps injury.
He is also playing so well he leads this week's six-pack of Waiver-Wire Picks. As always, the rule of thumb for these selections is they must be owned in fewer than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, but we usually go lower than that. This week's six-pack is available in at least 56 percent of the ESPN formats.
All stats are through July 15.
Alex Presley, OF, Pirates
Ownership percentage: 15.2; Age: 25
Presley has five multihit games in his last eight contests. In 2,232 at-bats in the minor leagues, he hit .290 with 44 homers and 74 steals.
He was excelling in Class AAA before he got the call to Pittsburgh this season (.336, 52 runs, eight homers, 36 RBI, 18 steals and an .889 OPS in 292 at-bats).
It seems very unlikely he will sit once Tabata is back. The latter batted .299 as a rookie last season, but was struggling before he was sidelined in late June. When he returns, he'll start in left and Presley likely will be moved to right, which is currently occupied by Garrett Jones.
The guess here is Jones, who is hitting .245, will move to first base, where he will start or platoon with Lyle Overbay, who is batting all of .238.
Regardless, Presley should play, and he should hit for average, score a lot of runs and steal a decent amount of bases.
Nate Schierholtz, OF, Giants
Ownership percentage: 41.0; Age: 27
He is a 2003 second-round pick who has never had more than 285 at-bats in his five-year career. Is he finally putting it all together after producting excellent numbers in the minors (.308, 84 homers, 401 RBI, 41 steals and an .871 OPS in 2,413 at-bats)?
Since June 28, the answer seems to be yes. Schierholtz is hitting .387 with nine runs, three homers and 12 RBI in 62 at-bats in that span. Overall, he has seven homers, 32 RBI, five steals and a .287 average in 233 at-bats.
He has the potential to bat .300 with more than 15 homers and 15 steals. That's more than enough for a third outfielder in fantasy.
Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays
Ownership percentage: 44.0; Age: 23
He was sent to Triple-A in late April after he batted .184 with a .540 OPS. Since Snider was recalled July 4, he is hitting .421 with 10 runs, a homer, 11 RBI and five multihit games in nine contests.
Last season, Snider had 14 homers, 32 RBI and six steals in 298 at-bats, and he was phenomenal down on the farm. In 1,613 at-bats in the minors, he hit .306 with 284 runs, 71 homers, 312 RBI, 25 steals and a .904 OPS.
Snider batted .333 after he was demoted to Triple-A this season, and it was only two years ago he was ranked as the No. 6 prospect in all of MLB by Baseball America.
Don't expect him to hit for a high average (he's a .255 career hitter), but Snider should hit for power and reach double digits in steals. In 737 at-bats in the big leagues, he has 27 homers, 97 RBI and 14 steals.
Eric Thames, OF, Blue Jays
Ownership percentage: 28.2; Age: 24
A quick note before we praise Thames: Make sure he's healthy after he left the Blue Jays' game July 15 with cramping in his left leg.
The rookie is batting .330 with 23 runs, four homers, 14 RBI and a .938 OPS in 112 at-bats. In his last 12 games, he's hitting .375 with 10 runs, three homers, nine RBI and seven multihit contests.
In short, he's doing what his minor-league track record said he could. Thames batted .308 with 37 homers, 188 RBI, 14 steals, 170 runs and a .920 OPS in 922 at-bats down on the farm. Not bad for a 2008 seventh-round pick.
Javy Guerra, RP, Dodgers
Ownership percentage: 24.0; Age: 25
It took three months, but the Dodgers might have found a closer.
Guerra has three saves since July 8, and his five on the year are two short of Jonathan Broxton for the team lead (talk about an honor). Overall, the rookie is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.
The WHIP is what scares us slightly. Guerra had a 1.57 WHIP in the minors -- though he did strike out 411 batters in 420 innings.
He hasn't allowed a run in eight of his last nine appearances, and you're not going to find much better bullpen help on the waiver wire.
Derek Holland, SP, Rangers
Ownership percentage: 13.9; Age: 24
He's thrown consecutive shutouts, but still has a 4.32 ERA and 1.41 WHIP to go with an impressive 8-4 record. Holland's last eight starts, however, are a more accurate reflection of his fantasy value. In that stretch, he is 4-3 with a 3.54 ERA.
He had a 5.52 ERA in his first two major-league seasons, but struck out 161 in 195 2/3 innings. In the minors, he was 23-9 with a 2.47 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and nearly 15 more Ks than innings pitched (302 to 287 1/3).
Two years ago, he was considered a top-35 prospect by Baseball America, and if he finishes with 15 wins and 160 Ks, he will be living up to that billing.
The Watch List
BATTERS: Delmon Young, OF, Twins (40.3 pct. ESPN); Derrek Lee, 1B, Orioles (29.9); Kurt Suzuki, C, Athletics (24.6); Alexi Casilla, 2B, SS, Twins (23.9); Mark Ellis, 2B, Rockies (11.5); Marco Scutaro, SS, Red Sox (3.1).
PITCHERS: Bobby Parnell, RP, Mets (43.6); Vance Worley, SP, Phillies (41.7); Paul Maholm, SP, Pirates (30.8); Matt Harrison, SP, Rangers (30.4); Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds (17.1).
Also see:
Three months ago, the Pirates contending in mid-July seemed less likely than the Indians leading the AL Central, Craig Kimbrel on top of the NL in saves and Hanley Ramirez having six fewer home runs and 12 fewer RBI than fellow shortstop Jhonny Peralta.
If you're scoring at home, everything in the above paragraph has happened, and the contending Pirates have produced another unlikely fantasy baseball standout.
Alex Presley, an eighth-round draft pick in 2006, is batting .357 with 11 runs scored, one home run, six RBI, three stolen bases and a .975 OPS in 56 at-bats since he was promoted from Triple-A. He is playing so well the Pirates will have a tough decision to make when left fielder Jose Tabata returns from a quadriceps injury.
He is also playing so well he leads this week's six-pack of Waiver-Wire Picks. As always, the rule of thumb for these selections is they must be owned in fewer than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, but we usually go lower than that. This week's six-pack is available in at least 56 percent of the ESPN formats.
All stats are through July 15.
Alex Presley, OF, Pirates
Ownership percentage: 15.2; Age: 25
Presley has five multihit games in his last eight contests. In 2,232 at-bats in the minor leagues, he hit .290 with 44 homers and 74 steals.
He was excelling in Class AAA before he got the call to Pittsburgh this season (.336, 52 runs, eight homers, 36 RBI, 18 steals and an .889 OPS in 292 at-bats).
It seems very unlikely he will sit once Tabata is back. The latter batted .299 as a rookie last season, but was struggling before he was sidelined in late June. When he returns, he'll start in left and Presley likely will be moved to right, which is currently occupied by Garrett Jones.
The guess here is Jones, who is hitting .245, will move to first base, where he will start or platoon with Lyle Overbay, who is batting all of .238.
Regardless, Presley should play, and he should hit for average, score a lot of runs and steal a decent amount of bases.
Nate Schierholtz, OF, Giants
Ownership percentage: 41.0; Age: 27
He is a 2003 second-round pick who has never had more than 285 at-bats in his five-year career. Is he finally putting it all together after producting excellent numbers in the minors (.308, 84 homers, 401 RBI, 41 steals and an .871 OPS in 2,413 at-bats)?
Since June 28, the answer seems to be yes. Schierholtz is hitting .387 with nine runs, three homers and 12 RBI in 62 at-bats in that span. Overall, he has seven homers, 32 RBI, five steals and a .287 average in 233 at-bats.
He has the potential to bat .300 with more than 15 homers and 15 steals. That's more than enough for a third outfielder in fantasy.
Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays
Ownership percentage: 44.0; Age: 23
He was sent to Triple-A in late April after he batted .184 with a .540 OPS. Since Snider was recalled July 4, he is hitting .421 with 10 runs, a homer, 11 RBI and five multihit games in nine contests.
Last season, Snider had 14 homers, 32 RBI and six steals in 298 at-bats, and he was phenomenal down on the farm. In 1,613 at-bats in the minors, he hit .306 with 284 runs, 71 homers, 312 RBI, 25 steals and a .904 OPS.
Snider batted .333 after he was demoted to Triple-A this season, and it was only two years ago he was ranked as the No. 6 prospect in all of MLB by Baseball America.
Don't expect him to hit for a high average (he's a .255 career hitter), but Snider should hit for power and reach double digits in steals. In 737 at-bats in the big leagues, he has 27 homers, 97 RBI and 14 steals.
Eric Thames, OF, Blue Jays
Ownership percentage: 28.2; Age: 24
A quick note before we praise Thames: Make sure he's healthy after he left the Blue Jays' game July 15 with cramping in his left leg.
The rookie is batting .330 with 23 runs, four homers, 14 RBI and a .938 OPS in 112 at-bats. In his last 12 games, he's hitting .375 with 10 runs, three homers, nine RBI and seven multihit contests.
In short, he's doing what his minor-league track record said he could. Thames batted .308 with 37 homers, 188 RBI, 14 steals, 170 runs and a .920 OPS in 922 at-bats down on the farm. Not bad for a 2008 seventh-round pick.
Javy Guerra, RP, Dodgers
Ownership percentage: 24.0; Age: 25
It took three months, but the Dodgers might have found a closer.
Guerra has three saves since July 8, and his five on the year are two short of Jonathan Broxton for the team lead (talk about an honor). Overall, the rookie is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.
The WHIP is what scares us slightly. Guerra had a 1.57 WHIP in the minors -- though he did strike out 411 batters in 420 innings.
He hasn't allowed a run in eight of his last nine appearances, and you're not going to find much better bullpen help on the waiver wire.
Derek Holland, SP, Rangers
Ownership percentage: 13.9; Age: 24
He's thrown consecutive shutouts, but still has a 4.32 ERA and 1.41 WHIP to go with an impressive 8-4 record. Holland's last eight starts, however, are a more accurate reflection of his fantasy value. In that stretch, he is 4-3 with a 3.54 ERA.
He had a 5.52 ERA in his first two major-league seasons, but struck out 161 in 195 2/3 innings. In the minors, he was 23-9 with a 2.47 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and nearly 15 more Ks than innings pitched (302 to 287 1/3).
Two years ago, he was considered a top-35 prospect by Baseball America, and if he finishes with 15 wins and 160 Ks, he will be living up to that billing.
The Watch List
BATTERS: Delmon Young, OF, Twins (40.3 pct. ESPN); Derrek Lee, 1B, Orioles (29.9); Kurt Suzuki, C, Athletics (24.6); Alexi Casilla, 2B, SS, Twins (23.9); Mark Ellis, 2B, Rockies (11.5); Marco Scutaro, SS, Red Sox (3.1).
PITCHERS: Bobby Parnell, RP, Mets (43.6); Vance Worley, SP, Phillies (41.7); Paul Maholm, SP, Pirates (30.8); Matt Harrison, SP, Rangers (30.4); Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds (17.1).
Also see:
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